Survivor of failed termination addresses parliamentary meeting

A 28-year-old American-born survivor of a failed abortion procedure came to London to lend her voice to the anti-abortion group ‘Alive and Kicking’.

Gianna Jessen, a committed Christian who has cerebral palsy, told her story to a parliamentary meeting at the House of Commons. Citra Abbott, spokesperson for Alive and Kicking, said: ‘Gianna is bearing witness to the humanity of the unborn child and to the right to life of every human being. She is also a powerful witness to the rights of the disabled.’

Ann Furedi, chief executive of bpas, said: ‘These stories are extremely distressing. But the point we would always make is that these very late abortions at times when there is a potential for life are very few and far between. And there is very clear guidance to make sure this sort of thing does not happen.’

‘I survived an abortion attempt’ BBC, 6 December 2005